Revelations
by RangerCraving
Summary: Stephanie reveals her true feelings, forcing Ranger to acknowledge his own.  Babe story
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. They were created by Janet Evanovich. I made no money writing this story._

**_FOR STAYCE!_**

**_HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_**

Chapter 1 - Revelations

_Steph's POV_

"Okay, so what are you looking for in a man?"

"Connie, I'm not doing this." Connie had found a Trenton personal ad website and was now on a mission, and that mission was let's find a man for Stephanie Plum.

"Come on, Steph. It's just for fun. You don't have to post it if you don't want to." Lula and I had pulled up within minutes of each other this morning and shared some doughnuts while leaning against the car waiting for Connie. When she'd finally showed up, she mumbled something about a doctor's appointment as an excuse for being late then threatened to beat us both bloody if we hadn't saved her a doughnut.

She'd opened the office door to let us all in, snagged a Boston Crème and was currently sitting at her computer. Lula was bouncing up and down in her seat on the sofa, and I was trying to not give in to the urge to bolt out the door.

"Yeah, come on, white girl. What can it hurt? This just be for fun." I looked over at Lula in her purple sequins and lime green feathers.

"Then why don't you do it?"

"'Cause I've got me a man now. A real good one too, if you know what I mean. I don't need to place no personal ad to get my oil checked."

"She wouldn't either if she wasn't so damn picky." Connie snorted while she typed.

"I am not picky." I watched as Connie and Lula looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"What?" I didn't care that my voice was nearly a shriek. These two were driving me nuts. Had been for days. Okay, so I'd been a little moody lately. And maybe they were onto something with the whole sexually frustrated thing, but it's not like I wanted to be in this condition.

"Morelli?" The name was a question from Connie, not a statement.

"Don't even go there. He talked about marriage and kids so much the last time we were on again that I was afraid he'd get me drunk one night and I'd wake up in Vegas with a ring on my finger and eight hours pregnant." I almost shuddered thinking about it.

"Yeah, well, there are worse things than marrying Joseph Morelli and having his kids. Steph, don't you want to get married and have a family?"

"Not any time soon."

"Besides," Lula piped up. "She can't marry officer hottie."

"Why not?" Connie looked as confused as I felt.

"'Cause she's in love with Batman." I froze as I stared at her.

"I'm not in love with Ranger, Lula."

"Are you sure?" Now I looked at Connie. Yeesh, why couldn't I have normal friends who minded their own business?

"Yes, I'm sure." My teeth were clenched. And I was lying. I knew I was lying, but I was sticking to my story.

"Okay. Fine. Don't pop a blood vessel. Just figured that's why you're too chicken to do this." I gave my best deep sigh.

"I am not chicken, but I meet more than my share of crazies without advertising for them."

"Steph, it's not like you're really going to post the ad. Here. Look. I won't even be on the website. We'll just go to Word here and type up a list of answers to the questions. It will help you get an idea of what kind of guy is right for you." I watched as Connie's printer started spitting out paper.

"Okay. We need a list of physical qualities you're looking for."

"Tall," Lula blurted out.

"Not too tall," I said to Connie.

"Big." This time I glared and Lula.

"Not too big."

"And a huge …"

"Lula!"

"What?"

"Unless you're willing to share Tank with Steph, you might want to let her have some input here." Lula's face turned to a pout.

"Just tryin' to help her out some."

"Now, Stephanie, give me your idea of the perfect looking man." Connie and Lula stared at me as I chewed on my lower lip. My voice was quiet as I answered.

"Taller than me, but not so tall I'd get a kink in my neck kissing him. Um, muscles. He'd have to be able to pick me up. Even when I've eaten too many doughnuts that week." A part of what I'd just said surprised me. When had I started fantasizing about a man carrying me to bed? The first time Ranger scooped you up into his arms, a little voice answered.

"Eyes and hair," Connie asked.

Closing my own eyes, I brought into mind the perfect man. "Long black hair. The kind of brown eyes that go black with emotion, not milk chocolate. He should make his clothes look good instead of the other way around. And use shower gel that makes my mouth water." I was so caught up in my own daydream that I forgot anyone else was around.

"His mouth should be so hot that my knees go weak just from a stolen kiss. His hands so clever that they send shivers through my body."

"Told you," Lula snorted softly, but the sound was still enough to have me jump and open my eyes. I squinted for a few seconds as I came back to earth with a thud.

Connie was looking down at the paper in front of her. When her eyes came back to mine, her voice was gentle. "What kind of relationship are you looking for?"

Staring at her, I answered from my heart. "I want a relationship with a man who won't push me to be something I'm not. I want a relationship with a man who isn't afraid to give love a chance. I want a relationship with a man who won't suffocate me or push me into a mold. Or worse, make me feel like I'm good enough for sex but not good enough for anything more."

"Didn't I tell you?" Lula was staring at Connie with a stubborn look on her face.

Connie looked at me, and I had to get away from the sympathy in her eyes. I started to the door. When my hand turned the doorknob, Connie's voice stopped me.

"Are you in love with Ranger, Steph?" I turned around and looked at her, fighting to keep the tears in my eyes from falling.

"How could I possibly not be?" I heard the door shut behind me as I raced to my car.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Connie's POV 

I watched Lula's eyes widen and a big smile light her face. I turned to look out the window just as Tank parked the shiny black Bronco in front of the bond office.

"My man." Lula started to get up but paused as the door to Vinnie's office opened. We both gasped in shock as Ranger walked out and stepped over to my desk. I grabbed the paper in front of me and turned to feed it into the shredder. When Ranger merely reached out and turned my Rolodex over, my gaze followed his as he removed the bug Vinnie had obviously planted there.

"Vinnie, you son of a bitch," I shouted just as Vinnie slammed his door shut and threw the lock.

Ranger dropped the bug to the floor and ground it under his boot before throwing me one last look. Lula and I watched him stroll out and angle himself into the Bronco. When Tank squealed away from the curb, we looked at each other.

"Oh, shit," Lula and I said in unison.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: All characters belong Janet Evanovich. I made no money writing this story._

_Warning: Smut_

**_FOR STAYCE!_**

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY!**_

Chapter 2 - Always

Ranger let himself into Stephanie's apartment like he had a hundred times before. But this time was different. He walked softly down the short hallway to her bedroom. Leaning on the doorjamb, his mouth tipped up in a small smile as he looked at the bed. Somewhere under the blanket lay the only woman who had ever given a damn about him as a man, and he was tired of walking away from her when all he really wanted to do was stay.

He knew this morning's conversation with Connie and Lula must have been traumatic for her if it had caused her to come home at 11:00 a.m. to curl up in bed and pull the covers over her head.

Feeling lighter inside than he could ever remember, he walked to the edge of the bed and playfully yanked the covers off. He nearly laughed at her barely stifled shriek.

"What are you doing here?" For a split second his mind went blank as she sat up wearing only a stretchy tank and her cute little boxers. He was finally able to tear his gaze away from her body to meet her eyes. Something there must have given her a clue, because she grabbed for the covers, just as he threw them to the floor.

As Ranger started undressing a slightly panicked look crossed Stephanie's face.

"Ranger, what are you doing?" He nearly smiled when her voice took on the slightly squeaky pitch it always did when she was nervous. Having stripped off his t-shirt and toed off his boots, Ranger kneeled on the bed and grabbed her ankles. When Stephanie started to squirm away, he gave a gentle yank and pulled her down further on the mattress

As he covered her body with his own, he brushed his lips softly across hers before whispering, "I'm applying for the position, Babe."

"What?" Her breathy response had Ranger's muscles tightening.

"I was in discussing business with Vinnie. He had Connie's office bugged again." As Stephanie sucked in her breath, Ranger leaned down and began placing hot, open-mouthed kisses along her jaw up toward her ear.

"Oh, god. Why me?" Because he didn't have an answer for her, he simply worked his way back and covered her mouth with his own. And poured everything he had, everything he was, and everything he'd ever felt about her into the kiss. When he felt her resistance melt, he tore his mouth away to once again attack the side of her throat. Fighting for control, Ranger whispered in her ear.

"Are your knees weak, Stephanie?" When her only response was a slight whimper in the back of her throat, Ranger rolled to his side and began running his hand over her body. His fingers slid gently over her collarbones, down to tease the swell of her breasts. His fingertips moved slowly back and forth before traveling down to tease one nipple. When he felt and saw the nipple tighten and press against her shirt, Ranger ran the back of his knuckles over its twin until he saw it harden and peak.

He lifted his eyes back to lock on her face. "Open your eyes, Babe. Look at me." When Stephanie did as he asked, Ranger allowed his hand to roam lower. His open palm skimmed over her belly to where the bottom of her shirt met the elastic band of her boxers. Using his fingertips to run lightly under that band, he felt a thrill go through his body in answer to the shiver that ran through hers.

"I guess I have my own answer there." With her eyes, blurry from her own arousal, still locked on his, Stephanie managed to speak.

"What do you want from a woman, Ranger?" At first she thought he wouldn't answer. When he did, her heart jumped in her chest.

"A woman who loves me for who and what I am." He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.

"A woman who can forgive me for being an ass." His tongue ran slowly along her bottom lip, reveling in her quickly indrawn breath.

"A woman who won't give up on me if it takes me longer than it should to figure out that I'm in love with her." And now he nibbled on her lip, gently sucking on it. Stephanie reached up and ran the fingers of one hand through Ranger's silky black hair, tugging gently until he released her mouth and looked at her.

"I think I might know where you can find a woman like that," she said, as she reached up and ran the fingertips of her other hand down the side of Ranger's face.

"Too late, Babe. I've already found her." Before she could say any more, Ranger rolled back over Stephanie's body and pinned her to the mattress. His beautiful mouth moved back to hers in a kiss that spoke silently of promises. With her hands in his hair, Stephanie poured every longing, every dream and every ounce of what she felt for him into the kiss, telling him everything his guarded heart had so long needed to hear.

Ranger broke the kiss to trail warm, wet kisses over her throat, pausing to suck on the soft skin at her pulse point until he felt her fingers fist in his hair. When he leaned back, he blew gently at the red mark that he'd left behind. His eyes drifted from her half closed eyes to her swollen lips to his mark on her beautiful neck, and he felt his body harden to the point of pain.

Ranger nearly lost control of the tenuous leash he had on his body. Frantic to be one with her, to immerse himself in her completely, he slid his warm hands under the stretchy top and whisked it away. He captured a hardened nipple with his mouth and began to suck on it, pausing only long enough to run his tongue over and around it. As he released one tightened bud to move to the other, his impatient hands reached down to remove the rest of her clothes.

As Ranger ran his tongue slowly down Stephanie's body, her hands released his hair to rake her nails over his shoulders, drawing a groan from deep in his chest. Needing to help her find fulfillment before taking his own, desperate for the taste of her, he slid between her silky thighs. He trailed kisses meant to arouse across the inside of one leg before shifting to give the same attention to the other. When her whimpers turned to pleas, Ranger slipped his tongue between Stephanie's soft folds, moaning at the sweetness he found there. He wondered how he had ever managed to survive without the taste of her after he'd known it once before. And then he couldn't think at all.

Stephanie felt herself begin to rise higher and higher. Her body was a liquid flame burning under Ranger's wonderful hands and impossibly hot mouth. When she felt him pull and tug at the nub he had exposed, she arched off the bed and gripped his muscular shoulders now damp with a sheen of sweat. As the intensity of the orgasm slammed through her, a helpless scream was torn from her throat, Ranger's name a shouted prayer on her lips. Bursts of light exploded behind tightly closed eyelids as wave after wave of pleasure shuddered through her body.

When Stephanie shattered beneath his mouth and hands, Ranger had to force himself to stay with her until she gently began to float back down. That waiting was an exercise in restraint that challenged Ranger more than any battle or any enemy ever had. His body was urging him to take, while his heart was telling him to share.

When he felt her body go limp and the aftershocks begin to tremble through her, Ranger sat up and tore away the pants that confined him. Turning back on the bed, turning back to Stephanie, Ranger ran his hands up her legs over her stomach, stopping to cup her perfect breasts in his hands. Wanting to be gentle, needing to plunder, Ranger cursed himself silently because he knew he could wait no longer.

In one swift movement Ranger buried himself deep inside the hot, welcoming heat that was heaven. When Stephanie's eyes shot open in shock and pleasure at his invasion, he gloried in the power of being her man.

When her arms reached for him as he started to move inside of her, he basked in the glow of her love for him.

When they came together, skin against skin, mouth to mouth, hands seeking to touch and to hold, Ranger felt what little control he had left dissolve in a rush.

He grasped her hands in his, linking their fingers as he pinned her hands beside her head. He didn't have to tell her to look at him this time. Her sparkling eyes were so deep and blue he felt like he would drown in them. Increasing the tempo of his thrusts, he watched as her eyes went opaque and her breathing became as erratic and labored as his own. When he felt his own release building, he leaned down and growled against her mouth, "Come with me, Babe" before capturing her scream with a kiss. As he felt her inner muscles contract around his hard shaft, his own orgasm had him arching his back on one final thrust as her name was ripped from him in a shout that bounced off the walls and echoed back to them.

Ranger remained poised above Stephanie for long minutes after. When his quivering muscles threatened to no longer support him, he rolled so that Stephanie was sprawled between his legs and across his chest. His heart was trembling inside of him, and he knew it had nothing to do with the physical exertion of their lovemaking.

Taking a deep breath, and then another, he said the words he'd kept buried inside him for so long.

"I love you, Stephanie." He felt her slender body jolt in surprise, and he held his breath.

"I love you too, Ranger." When her soft and clear voice answered, he started breathing again.

Stephanie lifted her head off of his shoulder long enough to look at him and whisper, "Stay with me."

"Always, Babe," he whispered back.

_The End._


End file.
